The victory was resounding as Stettler Cougars claimed the first win of the season, defeating Red Deer Notre Dame 72-0 in a home game on Saturday, Sept. 12.
With a convincing defense and a relentless offense, Cougars did not give the Notre Dame players a moment of reprieve, raising the bar for the next game.
Noah McKay and Steele Nichols gave Cougars fans many memorable moments as they tackled and attacked fearlessly. McKay scored a total of seven touchdowns with Delaney Anderson adding two, one of them on a 75-yard dash.
Brett Mercier and Dan Lesage also added one TD each to the tally while Steele Nichols converted all of the nine kicks after the touchdowns setting a team record for most extra points went 9 for 9 in kicking extra points, becoming the first Cougar to do so.
Head coach Mark Neitz was undoubtedly very pleased with his team's performance.
"As a team we played well for the first game of the season, being able to give all players ample play time and allowing them to get game experience, that will be really integral for the younger players going forward," said Neitz. "Basically we will continue to work on fundamentals and being more comfortable in the offensive and defensive schemes so that we can minimize on-field mistakes."
According to Neitz, it is important for the players to keep up the speed.
"We need to realize that we are going to come up against tougher, more talented teams going later into the season so we can't become complacent with such a lop-sided win," said Neitz.
Cougars play Ponoka next on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1.00 p.m.